Several church members have asked my opinion on Halloween, the history behind All Hallows Eve, and whether or not Halloween activities are appropriate for Christians to participate in...here is a rather long-winded response that I've shared with several that I'm sharing here with hopes others may find it helpful.

Shortly after Christianity was legalized in the West (313 AD), Christians began to honor those believers who died in the faith. It was both a celebration of the number of martyrs who died for the faith during the Roman persecutions (late 200's, early 300's) as well as a time to remember those whom we know who died in the faith in the last year. This feast is what we today call All Saints Day, called in older times All Hallows Day (hallow, of course, coming from holy, as in the Lord's Prayer).

Early on, All Saints was celebrated on May 13th, but during the short time of Pope Gregory III (730's), he moved the day to November 1st to align with the foundation of a new chapel in St. Peter's (the Vatican) dedicated to all the saints/believers in heaven. As with most church feasts, we added the night before to the celebration, adding All Hallows Eve on October 31st (similar to Christmas Eve on December 24th and Holy Saturday before Easter) and All Souls Day (in some places) on November 2nd.

The term Halloween is a contraction of Hallows Evening: Hallow + E'en = Halloween.

Christians used to be much more open and honest about the reality of death than we are in our sterile, antiseptic 21st century American culture. After all, they were surrounded by death all the time, up front and personally. Taken together, these three days became a time to remember the reality of death and to celebrate Christ's victory over death for all who lived and died in faith. There was nothing grotesque or morbid about it. Life and death happened every day and were not anything unusual. If anything, our distance from death is what makes many recoil at a Church holy day remembering the faithful departed.

As far as I can tell, the tradition of dressing up on Halloween started sometime around the Reformation. Ghoulish costumes (by no means scary or gory by today's standards) were a visible reminder that death will one day take us all. Martin Luther is said to have encouraged ridiculous representations of Satan and demons because of his belief that the thing Satan hated most was being made fun of and mocked (his sin, after all was pride, and the proud hate being ridiculed). Jack-o-lanterns evolved to pumpkins from the Irish tradition of carving turnips (lame, ha ha). Trick-or-treating presumably came from an English tradition of going door to door asking for 'soul cakes' with the promise to pray for the departed family members of the givers.

I've read from anti-Halloween sources that the church took the pagan, Celtic holiday of Samhain and baptized it to make a church holiday; however, this has a few problems. There's no evidence that this Celtic holiday was known in Rome when the Pope moved All Saints Day to November. It appears to be a very localized observation, and the Pope specifically moved it around a church dedication. There also doesn't seem to be anyone making a connection between the two until about the time of the Reformation (honestly, as a die hard Protestant, it was probably propaganda from the Reformers trying to link paganism and anti-Christian practices with the Roman Catholic Church).

I think it's safe to say that Halloween has very strong Christian roots, and we should do a much better job teaching our own Christian history. I'd love to see Christians reclaim the original celebration for what it is...we need to do the same with Christmas, too! With that in mind, however, there is no denying that Halloween has been hijacked by secular and demonic influences and twisted into something that would be unrecognizable to our ancestors. More importantly, there are those today who definitely take it much too far into the realm of the dark and demonic...and we should by no means participate in that. All that to say, yes, I think we can celebrate Halloween, but we need to be discerning about how we do so. There's certainly much more danger in the demonic influences around Halloween than a Christ-less, secular Christmas. But just because things are abused doesn't mean we should throw them out. We should restore them. They are an important part of the faith.

#culture #festivals #theology

Why does the truth now lead to hatred, causing people to become enemies of those who share it? A happy life is cherished, and that happiness comes from embracing the truth. Perhaps it's because people love the truth only when it aligns with what they already cherish. They want to believe they are right and resist being shown otherwise. This is why they hate the truth—it threatens what they love more than the truth itself. They appreciate the truth when it enlightens them but despise it when it points out their faults. They want to avoid being deceived, yet they often deceive themselves. They love the truth when it reveals something positive, but they hate it when it exposes their flaws.

— St. Augustine, Confessions, Book X, Chapter XXIII

#culture #quotes #theology

Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity, Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words, That they may shoot in secret at the blameless; Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear. They encourage themselves in an evil matter; They talk of laying snares secretly; They say, “Who will see them?” They devise iniquities: “We have perfected a shrewd scheme.” Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep. But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they shall be wounded. So He will make them stumble over their own tongue; All who see them shall flee away. All men shall fear, And shall declare the work of God; For they shall wisely consider His doing. The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory.

— Psalm 64 (NKJV)

This Psalm is perfect in light of the last few weeks' news—assassinations, murders, shootings, terror anniversaries, and the like. It needs no additional commentary. Re-read it. Pray. Trust in the Lord. Be ready.

Note: If you're not regularly reading through the Psalter, now is a great time to start. This was one of the Psalms for today using the traditional 30-day reading plan from the Book of Common Prayer and widely available online.

#culture #life #psalms

In today's world, the art of listening seems to be under threat. Social media has trained us to believe that what matters most is what we have to say. We're talking more than ever, broadcasting our thoughts to the world with every post, tweet, and status update. But in this cacophony of voices, it often seems like nobody is truly hearing each other.

We've become so focused on crafting our next response, our next witty comment, that we've forgotten how to listen. We skim, we scan, we scroll, but we rarely stop to absorb and consider what others are saying. We're more connected than ever, yet in many ways, we're more isolated, trapped in echo chambers of our own making.

This is why the skill of listening—real, active, engaged listening—is more crucial than ever. It's a skill that can set you apart in a world where everyone is clamoring to be heard. It's a skill that can open doors, build relationships, and lead to insights and opportunities that you might otherwise miss.

-George Raveling, What You're Made For: Powerful Life Lessons from My Career in Sports (H/T: A Layman's Blog)

#quotes #culture

There is no neutrality between gratitude and ingratitude. Those who are not grateful soon begin to complain of everything.

— Thomas Merton, Thoughts on Solitude

#quotes #culture #theology

On the Destructive Nature of the Left and the Proper Response of the Right

I read an article today that described the fundamental nature of the Left as 'negative,' i.e. opposed to things, typically the historic status quo. I think I would go further than that and say that the Left is fundamentally destructive / de-constructive and characterized by the desire to create disorder (more quickly than entropy disorders things in a fallen world). Over time, the immediate causes will change and adjust, according to the soft spots or easy gains that present themselves to this philosophy. This explains why the cause of the day has shifted from sexual and reproductive 'freedom' to political correctness to LGBTQ-alphabet soup to wokeness to antisemitism to...whatever will come next.

This is very negative, I admit; however, I am not especially charitable about my understanding of the Right as it is currently understood and exemplified.

The Right, it seems to me, is also characteristically 'negative' but in a different way. Instead of being focused on the destruction of the current state of things, the Right generally defines itself by being against the Left. It seems very rare to me, indeed, that anyone on the Right actually puts forth a genuinely positive position that is not a reaction to something the Left has already tried to destroy (e.g. being 'pro-life').

Understood this way, it is clear that the general, 'big picture,' macro drift of a society will NEVER be anything but to the Left. It will always drift leftward over time if the Right is not genuinely FOR ideas but reacts only against the destruction attempted by the Left. The Right, in this paradigm, is also fundamentally negative. Both sides work together to move a society, at greater or lesser speeds over time, toward self-destruction and societal suicide.

This is Satanic and demonic, full stop. If you don't believe me, think back on the just the last two hundred years of world history.

That this view is correct is self-evident if we pause and reflect on the positions currently held by the Right in the United States that are FAR left of positions held by the Left even less than a century ago. Contrast the views of Donald Trump on abortion or same sex marriage with Bill Clinton—who is more to the Left? Compare the theological views of 'conservative' churches today on female clergy or premarital sex with mainline churches of 50 years ago—who is more to the Left?

The Right, as it operates today, is a retardant to leftward motion rather than a genuinely creative or positive agent acting in society. To recover a truly positive influence, the Right must define itself by what it supports and not by what it is against, AND it must stop repeatedly conceding ground and drifting left itself.

Said positively, the Right (i.e. “Conservatives”) must stop trying to conserve things and start trying to recreate and restore them according to the Word of God and His intention for individuals and society.

Instead of the Right being 'conservative' it must be 'restorational.'

We ought not be trying to simply slow down society's movement to the left but restoring God's intended order, beliefs, and practice.

Who is up for such a monumental task? Certainly none of the political class or academia. It must come from God's people individually, who themselves are recreated and restored, and corporately, as the Body of Christ.

It will not come from anywhere else. Indeed, it cannot.

#culture #politics #theology

Aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.

— The Apostle Paul, 1 Thessalonians 4.11-12

Biblical Christianity, properly lived out, has always been counter-cultural, whether in the by-gone days of Christendom or in the nominally-Christian American culture in which many of us grew up. The difference between Christianity lived and the life epitomized, encouraged, and admired by our culture, however, has never been greater than it is today. While Scripture clearly does not call us to a life of isolated quietism, it also does not permit us to get dragged (or drag ourselves) into the swap that describes most of our culture and the ways in which we interact with it.

We would do well to reflect on what a disentangled life characterized by quiet, intentional labor would look life and how we can live that out in the midst of the bitter clamor and true laziness that describe so much of our culture.

#culture #life

link: Vicious Talk

If we can be certain of anything in these uncertain times, it is that nearly every modicum of civility, maturity, and decency in our American culture has evaporated more quickly than dew in the southeast Texas summer.

Presidents are no longer remotely presidential (this is not novel with the current administration). Successful businessmen talk to and about others in ways that would've gotten our mouths washed out with soap as children. And everyday average people treat others online in ways that ought to make them utterly ashamed of their vitriol and immaturity.

None of this is news, but it should concern us. It should be especially concerning to Christians, who are by no means above the fray or immune to the temptations of unleashing childish diatribes against others online and in person. What ever happened to the civilized part of our civilization?

Anthony Esolen has written a great piece lamenting this reality. As one on the right side of the political, theological, and cultural spectrum, he does not mind taking aim first at his own. He writes:

That most of the spitefulness is aimed by the left against the right is no comfort for the conservative, because quite enough of it goes the other way, and the general effect is the same. It will do you no spiritual good, and it is unlikely to achieve even a worldly purpose, to be pleased to find that your opponent, who may be to blame for falsehood or cowardice or outright wickedness, has justified your low opinion, and to make that pleasure evident to everyone. It is not a love of truth. It is a love of falsehood in others. One sign of it is the disappointment you feel when you learn that someone is innocent of the sin you had attributed to him.

The rest of his piece, which quotes largely from 19th century Italian author Alessandro Manzoni, shows us that our current state is neither unique to our day nor new in its ugliness.

It is definitely worth a thoughtful read.

#links #culture #theology

Liberals take positions that make them look good and feel good – and show little interest in actual consequences for others, even when liberal policies are leaving havoc in their wake.

— Thomas Sowell

Note: As an economist, Dr. Sowell is doubtless thinking about political and economic positions; however, the same is plainly true for theology.

#quotes #culture #theology